Ruyton Girls' School - Scripsi 2016

133

If you’re sick of hearing about guns, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I

am, too. I’m sick of hearing about guns and gun-related violence.

I’m not going to mention the latest incident, because it doesn’t

matter. I’m going to make this as generic as possible, so it can apply

anytime there’s another shooting.

Which there no doubt will be, because Americans seem

completely unwilling to do anything but shrug their shoulders and

say “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it!” Except in every other

country, they have done something about it, clearly, because the

United States is the only developed nation where this happens with

this level of frequency.

And, of course, every pro-gun person has the same arguments,

the exact same similes, metaphors and analogies. Tucker Carlson,

Fox News correspondent who has also worked for CNN, trotted

this old gem out in October 4

, 2015: “When you have a drunk

driving accident, you don’t ban cars, you try to prevent drunk

people from driving them.”

And yet, whenever someone brings up the issue of gun regulation

and control, not banning guns, people still scream about their rights.

Let’s use the famous drunk driving analogy. You’re right, you

don’t ban cars. But think about how much it takes to legally drive a

car. You have to get a license. In order to do so, you have to prove to

someone not just that you’re old enough to drive, but that you’re

capable. Depending on where you live, this can be a pretty long

process. You have to get your learner’s permit, then you have to

drive with someone in the passenger seat for a length of time. Then,

finally, you have to demonstrate to the government that you can

drive by passing a test. This process takes months, in some cases

years, before you can operate a motor vehicle for yourself. During

this time, you certainly can’t purchase a car, I mean, you could, but

you can’t drive it on your own.

All of these are regulations, some sort of attempt to create safer

drivers. The old system wasn’t nearly as well-regulated, and it

shows in the number of automobile-related deaths per capita there

were years ago. And, funny enough, no American screams ‘My

freedom is being taken away!’ when a new legislation is introduced

involving driving.

Why? Because, the right to drive isn’t in the American

Constitution. The right to own guns is. Except, most people who

Gun Violence

In America

Hannah

Winspear-Schillings

Allan Patterson Public

Speaking Award

Winner